PURI: The Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee has decided to prepare a new set of ornaments for the Suna Besha rituals of the holy Trinity, temple chief administrator Arabinda Padhee said on Saturday.
The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) will make the ornaments from its own resources and also plans to seek donations from interested individuals and organisations, he said.
The new ornaments will replicate the design, size and weight of those currently used for Suna Besha, based on the details available from the recent inventory, Padhee said after the managing committee meeting.
“The temple administration has adequate knowledge of the weight and designs of the existing ornaments following the recent inventory. The new ornaments will be replicated in letter and spirit,” he said.
The SJTA will shortly float a tender inviting agencies experienced in designing and making ornaments for deities.
The managing committee, chaired by Puri Gajapati Dibyasingh Deb, also approved the temple administration’s budget for 2025-26.
Padhee said the Gundicha Temple, which has remained closed to devotees for more than a decade for repairs, will reopen on September 30. The temple is generally opened to devotees during the Rath Yatra and closed after the festival.
Entry will be free for the first three days after reopening. Thereafter, devotees will be charged a fee of Rs 10, except those above 80 years of age and children, Padhee said.
The meeting also discussed the construction of an Adarsha Gurukul School at Matitota in Puri. The Odisha Bridge Construction Corporation has been entrusted with the construction, while Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi is scheduled to lay the foundation stone in November, Padhee said.
The committee also discussed construction of houses for homeless servitors. A uniform policy under the Shree Jagannath Temple Land Management Rules, 2026, will be operationalised soon. Servitors seeking benefits under the rules will have to report to the temple, with a dedicated cell to function at the temple office. The land registration office has been asked to fix a date for registration of temple endowments.
Gajapati Dibyasingh Deb presided over the meeting.